10% that make up the Internet Wrestling Community

After reading some of Bischoff's rants about how the internet is such a small minute part of the puzzle, I would like to take the chance to show you a few examples of why Mr. Bischoff or anyone would be wrong to dismiss the IWC so quickly......

1) Matt Hardy: Long before the story hit WWE airwaves about Matt Hardy/Lita/Edge, it was all around the net. So if the IWC only makes up a small percentage of the wrestling fanbase, how did the fans know enough to start up the "You screwed Matt" chants before anything was discussed on TV?

2) Goldberg vs. Lesnar: You'd think if you put the 2 Supermen of wrestling in a match at Wrestlemania that it would be a success right? Long Before Wrestlemania the IWC knew about Lesnar and Goldberg planning on leaving WWE which led the fans to the "Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye chants" Again, nothing mentioned on TV, but the IWC's presence was enough to start a chant going through the whole arena at the biggest show of the year.

3) Chris Benoit: If wrestling fans only went by what they see on WWE programming, they'd be pretty puzzled about what happened to Chris Benoit other than he passed away. The IWC however were googling the hell out of Benoit the day that it happened and are the reason that wrestling fans really know what happened, or at least part of it

4) ECW: In the ECW days, we could name tons of examples where the fans knew what was going on before it was announced in the ring about who would be leaving, who would be coming in, the IWC knew the info sometimes as quickly as the talent. Even in the old days they used to post the ECW shows online before broadband quality was even here. You would be seeing a choppy ECW show on Realplayer, but it was still an ECW show when they didn't have TV exposure. Out of Paul Heyman's own mouth, the network didn't promote ECW, so if you were watching, you HAD to be a fan to know when they're on. Hello IWC with all the information

5) Wrestling Magazines: Remember back when WWF magazine, or Pro Wrestling Illustrated would be must-haves every month? Running down to the store or news-stand to pick up the latest issue and find out everything we could about wrestling. All of that's gone with cassettes and VHS. When the Internet came in, we saw a LOT of wrestling magazines fall to the floor and crumble because it was easier for fans to google something and get the info free than to wait 2 months for something to be reported on in a magazine and have to pay for 2nd hand news

Twitter: Have you ever noticed the percentage of wrestlers that now have a Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace page? That's direct interviews with unfiltered questions, that's first-hand information sometimes quicker than the wrestling companies receive it, That's True Power!!!
Ever notice the way that TNA and WWE keep a close watch on Twitter and make sure that nothing's said that could jeopardize things? Seems kind of silly if you believe them and the way that they portray the IWC to be such a small piece of the pie.

In conclusion, these are just a few examples of why the IWC presence is more powerful than people would assume by what the federations would like you to believe. Let's hope wrestling companies start paying closer attention to what the IWC really thinks and wants before we see another 2001.

Comments

3) Chris Benoit: If wrestling fans only went by what they see on WWE programming, they'd be pretty puzzled about what happened to Chris Benoit other than he passed away. The IWC however were googling the hell out of Benoit the day that it happened and are the reason that wrestling fans really know what happened, or at least part of it

that is possibly one of the most ridiculous things i have ever read, I even made an account so I could tell you how ridiculous that is. What you basically said there was that finding out about Benoit murdering his family is because of the IWC snooping around like Sherlock Holmes on the internet? It wasn't the police reports or the media at his house. It was the IWC googling... Do you think the IWC could figure out if 9/11 really is a conspiracy? Or do you think they could help R-Truth with the WWE's conspiracy and the Little Jimmy's?

Oh and you do have a valid point, but I mean with the internet getting more and more into our lives of course the IWC will grow.

Thank you for writing this blog so that I didn't have to. I think it's laughable that anyone in the wrestling business still thinks the IWC is just a small fraction of the audience. That was true in 1999. But it's 2011, damn near everyone has internet access, and a majority of the fans are online nowadays. They may not comment on every other thing like some of us, but that doesn't mean they aren't reading this stuff.

As for Bischoff specifically, you'd think that someone who got his ass stomped in this business because he was a one trick pony and couldn't keep the fans interest would learn to be a little more humble. Instead, he's using his second, and likely final, chance to alienate the audience. And yet, after all his success and his colossal failure, he's even more arrogant than he was back in the day. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

But I disagree about the Benoit thing as well. The IWC didn't know jack shit until we heard it on the news like everyone else.

EHH Wrong! The only reason most of this happened is because, one member of the IWC, Spread it to other fans not in the IWC who have social media.

Also, if the IWC was bigger then the kiddies whom love the E' then we'd be in another Attitude Era, your opinions don't count to WWE and never will, I admit to being in the IWC.. but I'm not a bitchy, CM Punk ass kisser like most of you.

that is possibly one of the most ridiculous things i have ever read, I even made an account so I could tell you how ridiculous that is. What you basically said there was that finding out about Benoit murdering his family is because of the IWC snooping around like Sherlock Holmes on the internet? It wasn't the police reports or the media at his house. It was the IWC googling... Do you think the IWC could figure out if 9/11 really is a conspiracy? Or do you think they could help R-Truth with the WWE's conspiracy and the Little Jimmy's?

I think before you jump to conclusions, I never said the IWC had anything to do with the case or solving it. What I said is if we relied on what we saw on WWE programming, did they address it and let the fans know what happened? Or did they throw a tribute prematurely and then apologize for it without going into detail? I don't consider the IWC to be just limited to wrestling websites or dirtsheets. Anyone that googles a wrestling term adds to the IWC hitcounts, anyone that looks up a news article involving a wrestler is a part of the IWC, the IWC is merely the people that make up a presence online, and that presence stretches way past the millions that tune in to watch RAW.

With all of the people so hyped up on CM Punk's promo. Take that promo and dissect it into pieces. Compare how many of those pieces would be references people wouldn't understand and how many were storylines. The majority of what he said were topics that only people with knowledge of what's going on in the back or that follow the news would know. So if you have an audience of let's say 30,000 people at a big event, can you really tell me that only 3,000 of them are exposed to the internet or wrestling sites? That would mean they must be the most vocal to drown out the other 27,000 at the arena and start the "You screwed Matt" or "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" or "You Sold Out" or "(add your own choice)" chants that went through arenas